Canterbury Gecko

Open encyclopedia reference

The Canterbury gecko (Woodworthia brunnea) is a gecko found in the South Island of New Zealand. It is also known by the Māori names Waitaha gecko and Moko-pāpā, and as the brown gecko. It had previously been placed in a different genus and called Hoplodactylus brunneus, but further study split the genus Hoplodactylus into six genera, with some groups close to the former Hoplodactylus maculatus "Canterbury" being assigned to the new genus Woodworthia. The forms are separated geographically but have evolved from a common ancestor. Woodworthia geckos belong to the subfamily Diplodactylidae, known to be a primitive group found only in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. The significant differences between New Zealand and Australian Diplodactylids may suggest that geckos have been in New Zealand since it broke away from the Gondwana supercontinent 85 million years ago. The geckos are usually brown and highly patterned, including striped morphs. The eye colour ranges from green, brown to bright yellow and they can occur over a variety of habitats including dune-lands, forests, shrublands, river terraces and bluffs.

Wikipedia contributors, Canterbury gecko; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:52:15.062816+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Woodworthia brunnea (Cope, 1869)

Name authority

(Cope, 1869)

Common name

Canterbury Gecko

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Diplodactylidae

Genus

Woodworthia

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderGekkota
11. familyDiplodactylidae
12. genusWoodworthia
13. speciesWoodworthia brunnea (Cope, 1869)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Woodworthia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 147 records assigned to Diplodactylidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Woodworthia&species=brunnea Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:5C3DF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.